[REC]³ Génesis

Dark laughs and outrageous violence feature in the third film in the [REC] series

Where the first two [REC] films relied on claustrophobic tension and shaky camera to impress, the third film goes for a more conventional format that's backed by dark laughs and in-your-face violence.

Directed with over the top relish by Paco Plaza, one half of the creative duo behind the first two, the action picks up hours before the events of the original [REC] at the wedding of Clara (Leticia Dolera) and Koldo (Diego Martin). What begins as a lovely day soon turns into the reception from hell as one of the guests becomes infected and unleashes the virus and its flesh-eating consequences on all present.

Plaza sets things up with his trademark jittery camera but once the zombie mayhem begins, he drops that approach (quite literally) in favour of a more traditional one, so that he can divide his time between the two main characters, who become separated and spend the rest of the film trying to get back together.

If this ultimately deprives the film of the nerve-shredding tension that's been synonymous with the series so far, perhaps to its detriment, there's still plenty to appeal to the gore-hounds as well as those who enjoy their horror to carry more than a little element of the absurd. Some of the deaths are genuinely outrageous (involving kitchen utensils and chainsaws) and are not for the squeamish while the central romance is also wildly exaggerated but in keeping with the playful tone. Hence, while [REC]³ lacks any real potency in the scare department, it's a wild ride that keeps the franchise at the forefront of the zombie genre.

General release from Fri 31 Aug.

[Rec] 3: Genesis (2012) - Official Trailer

The wedding of Clara (Dolera) and Koldo (Martin) is disrupted somewhat, when a demonic virus turns the guests into crazed, flesh-eating psychopaths. The third film in the [REC] series abandons claustrophobic tension for dark laughs and in-your-face violence, but it’s still a wild ride.